A Strong Neighborhood Blog: What is your favorite public space?

“What is your favorite public space?” is one of my favorite “check-in” questions when I host meetings.

I ask it for two reasons:

It forces people (professionals and civilians alike) to think about and articulate why they like a particular park, library, neighborhood, street or plaza.

As a student of “place,” I really do want to know. I firmly believe that great neighborhoods are defined by their public places. To me, places that are safe, comfortable, accessible, welcoming and inclusive reflect democracy in action.

Bubbles at Britt Oval

Saint Luke’s Foundation was established nearly two decades ago to improve the health and well-being of residents of Greater Cleveland. Our Strong Neighborhood program strategy aims to achieve this mission by enhancing the physical environments and improving social conditions in the Buckeye-Shaker, Woodland Hills and Mt. Pleasant neighborhoods.

Britt Oval enjoyed by many

The “how” of this work is an active process called placemaking: planning, designing, programming and managing the public realm to improve health and well-being. Over the next few weeks, we’ll offer up some inspiration, insights and reflections alongside real-world, real-time examples of this work. Stay tuned!

BTW – My favorite public space is Britt Oval, an oval-shaped green space right next to Saint Luke’s.